Convocation through the years

This year, graduates are crossing a different stage at spring convocation.

For the first time, about 6,000 students will accept their degrees and continuing education certificates at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. The announcement about the move, made earlier this year, got us thinking about how convocation has grown over Ryerson’s 70 years. The very first convocation took place May 12, 1950 in Ryerson Hall with approximately 60 students. Principal Howard Kerr said “attendance is a must,” and that diplomas and certificates were not to be granted unless students accepted them in person.

In 1953, convocation was held in the gym – a converted garage near Church and Gould Street – and in 1958, 400 grads filed into the Evangelistic Centre at 42 Gerrard St. for convocation. The first and only outdoor convocation was on May 26, 1972 in the quad where nine of the 850 grads accepted Ryerson’s first degrees in business, geodesic sciences and interior design. Eggy the (real) Ram was a fixture at most ceremonies until 1991 when the Humane Society requested a live animal not be used anymore. From 1985 to 1989, spring convocation was moved to Toronto’s Massey Hall to accommodate the numbers. Eventually a change in scheduling and reformatting of ceremonies allowed for its return to the Ryerson Theatre.

Below are some photos that follow Ryerson convocation from its nascent climb to present-day maturity.

All photos courtesy of Ryerson Archives.

Photos: 1953-54 convocation in the converted-garage gymnasium; 1958 convocation at the Evangelistic Centre; Eggy showing support for grads in the 1960s; A nice day for a May 1972 graduation ceremony; Not exactly a rockstar but a musician nonetheless: a bagpiper leads the procession back to Ryerson for convocation celebrations in 1988; The class of ’93 when more than 3,000 grads received degrees, diplomas and certificates bearing Ryerson’s new university designation.